The UNHRC’s flotilla report under the microscope

The Zionist Council of Victoria’s Danny Lamm tells as it is about the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Gaza Flotilla report…

Dr Danny Lamm

“Israel is under excessive and obsessive scrutiny that no other nation in the world is subjected to when it comes to international human rights” said ZCV President Dr Danny Lamm today in response to the report issued by the United Nation’s Human Rights Council on the violent flotilla to Gaza in May.

“In this context, it is also really important to understand who the UNHRC represents because the council has a very specific, politically motivated agenda that is biased against Israel and committed to the delegitimization of the Jewish state”.

The following are undisputed facts about the UN Human Rights Council: the UNHRC is controlled by an automatic majority of OIC [Organization of Islamic Conference] and NAM [Non-aligned Movement] member states, including repeat human rights violators. Since its inception, the Council disproportionately devotes it’s time to Israel. It has deliberated on 33 anti-Israeli draft resolutions to date, but not discussed even a single draft resolution with regard to Iran, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. In addition, six of the Council’s 13 special sessions have been dedicated to Israel. A permanent agenda item of the HRC’s schedule is about Israel in every single regular session.

The report totally ignores the involvement of the IHH, the organization who led the violence aboard the lead ship in the flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, but it is impossible to examine the events without looking at IHH involvement. IHH is a terrorist organization, with an extremist-Islamist ideology and it maintains a relationship with the Hamas terror regime who rules Gaza. IHH is proscribed in Israel and Germany, and similar proceedings against it are currently under way in the US and other Western countries.

The panel interviewed more than 100 witnesses in Geneva, London, Istanbul and Amman during the course of its work. But video evidence provided by the Israel Defence Force and the BBC Panorama program which retraced the events on the flotilla taking into accounts both sides has been ignored.

“The UNHRC have disregarded any shred of evidence that could have indicated a balanced outcome” said Lamm.

“I urge journalists and editors to watch Jane Corbin’s piece on Panorama and make up your mind for yourself” he recommended.

Israel is conducting its own investigation into the flotilla as expected of any democratic nation. The IDF Examination Commission, headed by Major General (res.) Giora Eiland, has already completed its work. The Turkel Commission agreed to the participation of two international observers even though it is not legally bound to do so, and is still working on its report.

“Let’s not forget the flotilla leaders’ own words of intent and provocation” Dr Lamm reminded. “The flotilla in May and any other flotilla to Gaza are not about humanitarian aid. They are about entrapping Israel in a public relations war, to isolate and delegitimize.”

“It does now not appear that the freeze will be renewed, and the media has seen fit to over-saturate their readers with this issue. “Israeli “settlement building” is not the cornerstone of pehaveace negotiations but it has been used a bargaining chip to put pressure on Israel” points out Lamm. “Israel stood by the freeze for 10 months in a gesture of goodwill but regrettably no gesture was offered in return by the Palestinians”.

“What about other core issues of immediate concern such as the Palestinian acceptance of “two states for two people” and terror attacks against Israelis?” he questions.

“I specifically refer to a meeting held between Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad and Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon which ended abruptly because Fayyad refused to acknowledge the concept of a two-state solution.”

“Although President Abbas gave his word that terror would not be the outcome after the freeze expired terror attacks on Israelis have indeed continued; this morning an Israeli woman 9 months pregnant survived a shooting in the West Bank.”

“And what of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who continues to be held captive by Hamas for more than 4 years, in breach of international human rights conventions and denied access to ensure his physical and emotional well-being” says Lamm. “Surely Abbas could help shed some light on Gilad’s fate, particularly as Fatah are apparently once again opening lines of communication with Hamas”.

“These are the issues that are of concern to Israelis and that in fact, the UN and human rights activists should be addressing” said Dr Lamm.

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